My name is Steven Staley. I live in Pontiac, Illinois. It is a town of around 10,000 residents located in midwestern United States of America. It is primarily a farming community.

My journey as a photographer started when I was a nine year old boy. My mother and I took a train trip from Effingham, IL to Kankakee, IL. (I wonder if it was "The City of New Orleans" train (joke.) I had been given a black box type camera. I took my camera along and photographed all of the wonderful sights along the way, hundreds of photos i'm sure. The interesting thing about my first experience as a photographer was that my little black box camera did not have any film in it. I don't remember, but I don't think that I minded that the camera was empty at all. I was so excited to be entering the brand new world of photography and making memories, 1/60th of a second at a time.

That was many years ago and the thrill has never left me. I have only had a few cameras in my lifetime. I believe that I had a Kodak or two instant cameras, a Panasonic and a Vivitar "110" format, a Minolta X-700 35mm, then moved on to Sony digital point and shoot, and finally the first generation Canon Digital Rebel. That is the camera that I currently use. It is about ready for retirement now. If anyone has any suggestions for a new Canon I would like to chat. Just leave a comment on one of my pics. I will see it and reply.

Thanks for your interest!

UPDATE:

August 27, 2019

I have just purchased the Sony A7III body and the Sony FE 4/24-105 G OSS lens. It is the latest and greatest in mirrorless cameras (at least for now.) Hopefully, with continuing education in photography, I will enter a new level of my hobby.

Cheers!